Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After being humiliated by some freak experts, the Mighty King, Skyscraping Beast, and Golden Saber had been forced into returning all the money they had ever extorted from Lü Qiying. A few days later, this humiliating defeat was still bothering them. They did some research of their own and found out that those kung fu experts were subordinates of the Dragon King.
They didn’t dare seek revenge on those experts, so the three took it out on their own followers. But just as they were just about to forget this whole ordeal, a Norlander came to them and said, “A real man must settle his scores, not to mention bandits. And now, everybody in the Western Regions says that you all are as cowardly as mice and tremble upon hearing the words ‘Dragon King.’”
The simplest reverse psychology had worked like a charm on the three, all of whom indignantly claimed that they would definitely take revenge. But the Norlander knew that their his indignation wouldn’t last long if he didn’t give them some more guidance.
“He said that provisions are what the Dragon Army values the most, and that they’re also of great importance to the Dragon King. While it’s true that we can’t afford to mess with the Dragon King and his kung fu experts, but how could we not even dare to attack these provisions?” The Skyscraping Beast had been knocked down by a single punch from Mo Lin and hadn’t even had a chance to show off his lightness skills; his swift defeat had completely crushed his self-confidence and resulted in his quick confession.
Inside the tent, everybody remained silent. Afraid that he had said something wrong, the Skyscraping Beast fearfully watched Mo Lin – he was still unaware that the cripple was the true master of the group.
Liman felt a bitterness seep into his heart, and even his voice began to quiver slightly as he asked, “What’s the name of that Norlander? Who sent him?”
“I don’t know,” the Skyscraping Beast replied, but he was worried that Liman might not believe him, so he reiterated his words. “I really don’t know. He just said that he had some acquaintances in the Norland army, and that they didn’t like… the Dragon King very much, so they were willing to let us enter the Xiaowan Kingdom. He also said that we could hide in the army camp afterwards, wait for the heat from the robbery to die down, and then leave and do whatever we want.”
The Norlander had kept his word. The three groups of bandits had gotten through the patrolling cavalrymen and hidden themselves at the side of the road that the caravan would surely take.
The truth was obvious. The entire area between Heaven’s Pass and the caravan’s camp site was under the control of Prince Duodun, so whoever had colluded with the bandits must have been one of his subordinates.
Liman had always maintained a pivotal partnership with Duodun by constantly insisting that the prince ally himself with the Dragon King. Upon hearing the bandits’ words, he flushed involuntarily. He glanced at the Dragon King and explained, “The members of the Norland army in Heaven’s Pass have complicated backgrounds, and His Highness has just taken command…”
Gu Shenwei nodded and agreed with him. At the same time, he signaled Liman not to speak to him because he didn’t want his identity to be exposed.
Mo Lin had been listening from the side. He was not one of Duodun’s advocates so he didn’t have to be very cautious about his words. All he wanted was the truth, so he bluntly asked, “What did that Norlander look like?”
The Skyscraping Beast glanced at the depressed Mighty King before describing, “He was neither tall nor short, but he seemed strong, with a broad, flat face and small eyes…”
The more Red Bat heard of the description, the funnier she felt he looked. “According to your description, that man looks exactly like general Liman.”
What the Skyscraping Beast had described was the most common characteristics of a Norlander, and there wasn’t anything unique in the description. Unaware of the sarcasm in Red Bat’s remarks, he glanced a few times at Liman before saying, “Not him, definitely not. Besides, there was a big wart on the back of that Norlander’s neck. It looked like a black worm. I saw it by accident when I was seeing him off, and it even startled me.”
Liman gently stroked his neck. “Fortunately, I don’t have that on my neck.”
Red Bat was disgusted by these three bandits who had made lascivious remarks to her, so she swung her sheathed saber and smacked the Mighty King’s head. “Why aren’t you talking?”
The Mighty King tried to dodge her, but was stopped by Mo Lin. His forehead received a hit and a bump as big as an egg immediately appeared. He glared at Red Bat, but didn’t dare do anything about it. “What Skyscraping Beast said is right, but I didn’t see the wart. Er, that Norlander was always smiling. That’s all. Nothing more. A defeat is a defeat. It was because we were too careless. We should have set fire to everything from the beginning. If it weren’t for the fact that we wanted the money… Alas, what’s done is done. Just do what you have to. I won’t even frown.”
He had barely finished his sentence when he frowned as the bump on his forehead was too painful.
Liman seemed relieved as he said, “With this feature, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find that Norlander. I can guarantee you that there’s nobody matching that description around His Highness. I think that he’s most likely a former subordinate of some lord. It was very bold of him to make such a move by himself, and His Highness definitely won’t let him get away with this.”
Gu Shenwei nodded again, but didn’t pointed out the other possibilities. “Take the bandits to Xiaowan Kingdom.”
Mo Lin ordered the Mighty King and Skyscraping Beast to carry Golden Saber before escorting the three out of the tent.
Liman immediately got down on one knee before the Dragon King. Seeing this, Red Bat took the hint and left the tent.
“Are you hurt, Dragon King?” Liman asked in a small voice, showing great concern.
“Just a minor injury. I’m still in ‘closed-door-cultivation,’ so…” Gu Shenwei then signaled Liman to stand up.
“I understand. On our way here, I did indeed hear that Dragon King was still in ‘closed-door-cultivation.’ Mo Lin and I won’t say a word about it.”
“How’s the Naihang Tribe doing?”
Upon realizing that the Dragon King wasn’t about to ask any more questions about the bandits, Liman felt relieved. Actually, Liman was exceptionally excited to talk about his experiences in his hometown. “My father assisted King Rizhu’s favorite son in succeeding the throne, and all the other tribes have acknowledged his claim to the throne. The Naihang Tribe is in a stable situation now. My father believes that the Dragon King has nothing to do with the assassination, but he still holds a grudge against you because…”
“Because I didn’t fulfill my obligation as an ally and failed to protect King Rizhu?”
Liman was a little embarrassed and explained, “My father also blames himself for the death of King Rizhu. So he hates everybody, not just the Dragon King.”
“It’s okay. General Zhe Su’s entitled to bear some resentment against me. I did fail in my duty to protect King Rizhu.”
Liman didn’t say anything more on this topic. As far as he knew, King Rizhu didn’t really mean to ally with the Dragon King, and he would have attacked the Dragon King by now if he were still alive. Liman then shifted the conversation to talk about his lobbying experience. “At first, my father didn’t believe me, but Mo Lin was very helpful. He used to be a wing guard of the Khan, so his words matter a lot. Many people in the tribe are grateful – particularly for the Dragon King’s deeds of protecting the mausoleum, and that at last convinced my father. He promised that he wouldn’t launch sneak attacks on the Dragon King again, but he would still seek revenge.”
“He should.”
“My father said that it was Wild Horse who assassinated King Rizhu. Since both the Dragon King and the Khan’s wing guard said that Wild Horse works for Waning Moon Hall, he believes that it’s true. He swore to eradicate Waning Moon Hall and to kill each and every single one of them.”
“You did a good job.”
Liman’s face flushed even redder as he said, “Now that the Naihang Tribe’s been pacified and your alliance with His Highness has been forged, when will the Dragon King attack Golden Roc Castle?”
“Soon. It won’t be long before Shulitu leads his main armies here. According to our agreement, I’ll exchange armies with Prince Duodun, muster all of the troops in the Western Regions, and then finally take Golden Roc Castle once and for all.”
“Someone in His Highness’s army is plotting against the Dragon King. We can’t let him get away with this. This black sheep has to be eliminated as soon as possible.”
Gu Shenwei pondered the issue over for a while before saying, “Go to Heaven’s Pass and meet Prince Duodun tomorrow morning. Ask him to help us resolve this issue.”
Liman felt that the Dragon King’s trust him was given too easily, to the point that it was unbelievable. In his shock, he blankly stared at the Dragon King for quite a while before answering, “Yes. I won’t fail you, Dragon King.”
“Leave. I want to rest in your tent.”
Liman walked towards the exit of the tent. Suddenly he turned around, got down on one knee, and repeated his words. “I won’t fail you, Dragon King.”
Neither of the two had addressed the elephant in the room. Gu Shenwei barely trusted any outsiders, but this time he had decided to let Liman make his own choice. After all, in his competition with Duodun, one or two person’s stances wouldn’t make any difference in the big picture.
In the final analysis, the Court Attendants Army, the command of which Gu Shenwei had made great efforts to obtain, was his biggest bargaining chip.
Mo Lin took command of the entire procession and he issued an order to depart before daybreak. At the exact same moment in Jade City, the Unique King discovered the Dragon King’s absence and was about to question his biological daughter.
When the sun was high up in the sky, the provisions caravan had entered the patrolling range of the Xiaowan Kingdom’s army. Although they were Norland cavalrymen and most of them were quite fond of Duodun, none of them had ever expressed any dissatisfaction with the Dragon King, so they were rather trustworthy.
In the afternoon, Gu Shenwei entered the palace, found a quiet room, asked the others to leave, and immediately started guiding his internal energy to repel the frosty Qi.
It took him two days to finally get the frosty Qi in his body under control again. This was the first time that he had spent so much time fighting against the frosty Qi.
There were many things waiting for his decision, but Mo Lin was the first person that Gu Shenwei summoned.
Mo Lin now regarded himself as a subordinate of the Dragon King, so Gu Shenwei went straight to the point. “I took a book out of the Khan’s mausoleum.”
He produced the General Principles of Daoless Scroll and handed it over.
Mo Lin didn’t pay any special attention to it. He took the book and casually browsed it for a short while before saying, “You don’t need me to remind you of this, but most of these so-called kung fu manuals are counterfeits. The Khan only decided to start collecting books about five or six years ago. There was not much time, and the price was very high, so many conmen showed up.”
“This one’s a little special.”
Mo Lin ran his eyes through the book again, but this time he did it more carefully than before. “Neither the paper nor the handwriting seems to be a modern forgery’s.”
“I was wondering where they got this book from.”
Mo Lin hesitated. As a wing guard, he knew a lot of the deceased Khan’s secrets, and when the conversation turned to any of them, a thoughtful look would appear on his face. “I don’t quite remember the origins of this book. Most of the people who were in charge of collecting books died during the riots in the Royal Court, so I don’t think anybody alive knows it anymore.”
“I just want to know the general context.” Usually, Gu Shenwei wouldn’t push Mo Lin to talk, but this issue was different. The General Principles of the Daoless Scroll was of great significance.
Mo Lin quietly muttered two words. “Grave robbery.”
To make sure that his mausoleum had everything he needed, the Khan had resorted to every conceivable mean under the sun. As a result, the ones who were in charge of collecting of books ignored all rules. Intimidation and bribery were just a small part of their means, and they didn’t even bother verifying the authenticity of the books. A lot of fraudsters had shown up, and among them, there were even some tomb robbers.
Gu Shenwei took the book back and stroked it gently. “So it’s possible that this book is real?”
“Some forgeries are very difficult to distinguish from genuine ones. I don’t know much about this. You’d better have someone else identify it.”
“I will.” Gu Shenwei put the book aside before saying, “Lotus was in Jade City and I had a fight with her.”
Mo Lin raised his head. “Please allow me to leave for Jade City right away, Dragon King.”
“You have my consent. In the city…”
But before he could finish his remark, Long Fanyun abruptly said from outside, “I have something urgent to report, Dragon King.”
Mo Lin took his leave as Gu Shenwei gave him a reminder that he could always contact Old Man Mu and the others.
Long Fanyun nodded to show his respect for the Dragon King. “A message has just arrived. Duodun has imprisoned Liman and will probably kill him. Azheba’s very anxious and beseeched me to bring this message to you, Dragon King.”
Duodun was clearly not cool-headed enough, and Gu Shenwei couldn’t just idly stand by. “Issue a declaration: the Dragon King has finished his closed-door-cultivation ahead of schedule.”
